CONFIDEN MAL
TAKING 10,000. HE THOUGHT WE OUGHT TO DO MORE. I POINTED OUT THAT
10,000 FIGURES HAD BEEN SUGGESTED BY THE UNHCR AND WE STRESSED THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES SETTLED IN BRITAIN OVER THE YEARS.
REFUGEES : RESCUE SHIPS.
6. 1 EMPHASISED OUR CONCERNS THAT RESCUE SHIPS MIGHT BE ACTING AS A MAGNET LEADING PEOPLE TO DEATH AND GIVING THE VIETNAMESE AN EXCUSE
TO RESUME EXPULSIONS.
CAMBODIA
POLITICAL.
7. THE AMERICANS SEEM TO BE AT A LOSS ABOUT HOW TO FIND A POLIT- ICAL SOLUTION TO THE CAMBODIAN PROBLEM. THEY AGREED THAT THE TIME WAS NOT RIPE TO CALL A NEW CAMBODIAN CONFERENCE, WHEN I SAID THAT OUR MISSION IN NEW YORK (PARA 5 OF UK MIS NEW YORK TEL NO 841) HAD PROPOSED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CO-ORDINATING GROUP COMPOSED OF COUNTRIES MOST ACTIVELY CONCERNED WITH THE SITUATION IN INDO-CHINA, HOL BOOOKE WELCOMED THIS BUT THOUGHT THAT PROBABLY NEW ZEALAND SHOULD EE ADDED (AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND COUNTING FOR THIS PURPOSE AS ASIANS). HE SAID THAT A VERY EARLY MEETING OF THE GROUP SHOULD BE CALLED, PERHAPS AS SOON AS 14 AUGUST AND THAT SUBJECT TO SECRETARY> VANCE'S VIEWS THEY WOULD ASK THEIR MISSION IN NEW YORK TO GET IN TOUCH WITH OURS, I WELCOMED THIS BUT SAID THAT THIS IDEA HAD NOT YET BEEN AGREED IN LONDON AND I COULD MAKE NO COMMITMENT. HOLBROOKE WANT- ED THE GROUP TO CONSIDER ALL ASPECTS OF INDO-CHINA'S
AFFAIRS, INCLUDING THE HANDLING OF REFUGEES AT THE U.N. (CF PARA 2).
8. HOLBROOKE ALSO URGED US TO HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE
RUSSIANS ABOUT CAMBODIA.
HE THOUGHT THAT WE COULD DO SO IN OUR CAPACTIY OF CO-CHAIRMAN OF THE GENEVA CONFERENCE. WE AGREED THAT OUR AIM MUST BE TO MOVE TOWARDS A NEUTRAL CAMBODIA BUT THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE UNDER A GOVERNMENT WHICH WOULD BE RELATIVELY FRIENDLY TO HANO1. SIHANOUK WAS THE ONLY POSS- IBLE LEADER FOR SUCH A REGIME AND IT WAS ENCOURAGING THAT HE SEEMED TO BE DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM THE CHINESE.
9, WHEN I MENTIONED THE GERMAN SUGGESTION THAT THE NINE SHOULD DISTANCE THEMSELVES STILL FURTHER FROM POL POT REGIME, HOLBROOKE SAID THAT HE THOUGHT THAT ANY MOVE TO CEASE RECOGNISING POL POT WOULD BE A SERIOUS MISTAKE AT THIS STAGE, EVEN IF WE REMAINED FIRMLY OPPOSED TO RECOGNITION OF HENG SAMRIN A MOVE AWAY FROM POL POT MIGHT OPEN THE FLOOD GATES TO RECOGNITION OF HENG SAMRIN AND THIS WOULD SEVERELY WEAKEN SIHANOUK'S POSITION.
3
CONFIDENTAL
I CAMBODIA: